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Another month finished - time for my November clothing budget round up! I did some thrifting this month, found a winter coat, and bought some deals around Black Friday. I also used my Curated By Kelly gift certificate. I got several pieces, but plan to give a few as gifts.

My budget is $50 a month, so I did go over, but the coat was almost half of what I spent. The money for the coat actually came out of a separate fund I have for things that I've sold on Ebay, Etsy, Amazon, etc. So taking that into account, my total was $52.63 for November. I ha…

It's here! The biggest shopping weekend of the year! We've been stocking CJ's Craft Corner with lots of items that would make great Christmas gifts! Shop with us this weekend enjoy 15% off any order with coupon code HANDMADE15.

I was paired with Carrie and I've really enjoyed reading her blog and emailing her over the past couple of weeks. I had a great time selecting items for the shoebox I sent out and I got the most thoughtful box full of fun goodies from Carrie!

Carrie included a fun mix of Thanksgiving and Christmas items, as well as a very sweet note. My box contained: A framed piece of "grateful" artA Nativity mousepadA gratitude journalA listpadCozy socksBlank cards for creatingAn orange plaid napkin/towelChex mix seasoningFloating pumpkin candlesA pumpkin candy dishChristmas napkinsMulling spicesPumpkin butterChristmas cupcake linersA pumpkin spice candle
This was such a fun swap and a great way to get i…

I've posted a few times over the last year about how I've been trying to determine how to be more aware of where I shop and the conditions in the factories. One of the reasons I buy secondhand is in an effort to be a good steward of my finances as well as to think about the environmental aspect of my purchases. My recent purchase from Elegantees is a baby step toward trying to purchase from more ethical companies.

I've done some research over the last couple years, but have found trying to find ethical sources of clothing to be kind of difficult, especially on my budget. Over the last few weeks, I've read 3 wonderful posts that help to bring a bit of clarity to this topic, so I want to share them with you!

I haven't been buying a ton of new things lately. My birthday is at the end of the month, plus Christmas is around the corner, too, so I'm trying to remix what I have. I do have a wish list of course, but I feel like my wardrobe is in a pretty good place right now, which is fun! Here are a couple of outfits from the past week. ﻿
Moth Cardigan: Anthropologie (Goodwill), Tee: Target, Cords: Ann Taylor LOFT (Goodwill), Necklace: Gift, Boots: Target

Believe it or not, this is the first time I've layered a button down under a long sleeve tee. It was a nice change of pace from adding a cardigan, and very comfortable. Sometimes sweaters + button downs are too warm, but this was just right!

We haven't done a local craft show in many years. We used to participate in one with my grandparents in their hometown. It was a Saturday after Thanksgiving tradition. My grandpa did the most beautiful stained glass and my grandma sewed.

When our church announced we were holding a craft and vendor show, we decided to participate. Here are some pictures of our display.

Our whole table

Car trash bags - these sold really well for us.

Pouches, cozies, and tea wallets - we almost sold out of tea wallets!

The key fobs are something new I made. I have a few left over, so if you'd like one as a gift, they are $3 plus shipping. Send me an email if you are interested!

A selection of bins and some placemats

Overall, it was a fun day. I picked up some great smelling candles for $3 each as gifts. I've been burning the cinnamon sugar one since getting home last night.

Have your participated in or visited a craft show lately? Are you buying any handmade gifts this Christmas? Leave me a …

A few months ago, I joined Influenster and got a chance to review Colgate Total Mouthwash. I was excited to be notified recently that I would be getting the Rose VoxBox with several new items to test and review.

Here's what was inside the Rose VoxBox.

The products I received are:﻿ belVita Breakfast Biscuits in BlueberryRimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam MascaraDr. Scholl's Cozy CushionsKiss Gradation Polish KitVitabath Hydrating Lotion in Pomegranate and Blood OrangeLindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffle
I've gotten a chance to try most of the products, and here's what I thought of them!

My mid-afternoon snack last week. :)﻿ belVita Breakfast Biscuits in Blueberry: I wasn't sure if I'd like these after looking at them in the package, but I was pleasantly surprised! They are very thin and crunchy, but taste like a cookie. I really like that they don't have high fructose corn syrup and have whole grains. I've been eating them as an afternoon snack with some tea. I …

Mossimo Supply Co. Junior's Parka -Assorted Colo
My husband and I were fortunate to have today off from work together and we got some errands done, plus I got to do a little shopping. I went to Goodwill first and found some beautiful things today from great brands - a Banana Republic skirt, a black and cream Ann Taylor silk sweater, a Moth (Anthropologie) cardigan, and more. There was the cutest Old Navy utility/cargo jacket, but it was a size small. I ended up buying the Moth cardigan and a pink and white gingham American Eagle button down for around $9.00. Pics coming soon!

I also mentioned that I was looking for a new winter coat. I wanted something longer with a hood that is washable. I wear my coat into so many schools and different places for programs I really need to avoid something that needs dry cleaned, which is super hard with winter coats. I saw in the Target ad this week that they were running a sale on winter coats, so after browsing online, I went in to take a look …

Dress: Elle (Goodwill), Jacket: Sonoma (Goodwill), Leggings: Meijer, Necklace: Elder-Beerman, Boots: Target
﻿I've been on the lookout for a multi-colored dress for quite awhile - something that would go with lots of colors and be wearable in multiple seasons. When I saw this dress at Goodwill for 50% off, I knew I needed to buy it and bring it home. It's more of a shift dress style, so it's pretty loose fitting and it has kind of weird puffy short sleeves that I need to figure out, but today I styled it with a black jacket, leggings, and riding boots. It was so comfortable! I definitely will enjoy wearing it this fall and winter with lots of different jackets and cardigans.
I'm linking up! I Feel Pretty at Get Your Pretty On

An Untamed Heart by Lauraine Snelling is a Christian historical fiction novel set in Norway. For anyone that is a fan of Lauraine Snelling, this book is the prequel to her popular Red River of the North series. This book tells the story of Ingeborg and how she ended up in America and how she ended up married to her husband.

I have read most of the Red River of the North books, and I think having read that series helped me to understand a bit about where An Untamed Heart was going. I enjoyed this book and getting to know Ingeborg more through the story. I feel like Ingeborg's character was developed and explained a great deal through this novel.

Based on the summary on the back of the book, I did expect the story to be a bit different. I thought that it would involve more interactions between Ingeborg and Roald. The reality of their relationship was quite different than I anticipated and their story was actually only a small portion of the novel. Most of the story was devoted to an…

Well, I made it! 31 days (give or take) about small home living. Thank you to everyone that read and commented! I really enjoyed hearing from you throughout the month.

Now that October is over, I'm ready for a slower pace here on the blog for a bit. We have a craft show in a couple weeks, so I want to get some things finished for that. So if I'm scarce around here, you'll know why.

I hope to get a page up with all the Small Home Living posts and I'll share when that is available. I also have a couple of reviews to do as well.

Thanks so much for joining me on this 31 days journey! Have a great Sunday!

Here we are at the end of another month already! This month, I tried extra hard to be careful and thoughtful about my purchases. I'm pretty happy with what I ended up getting and I thrifted a couple of nice things, too!

October Budget and Purchases by gracenote30 on Polyvore
Crystal Necklace: Avon - $7.00 (worn here)
Polka Dot Jeans: Target - $7.62 (worn every Friday since I bought them)
Aldo Purse: Goodwill - $3.52 (I am loving this bag! Used here)
Mustard Cardigan: Kohl's - $7.50 after Kohl's cash (worn here)
Finally found a mustard cardigan!! This sweater is much more mustard in person and less of the greenish-gold shade it's showing on the web site. See if you can find one in your store to see.
Ice Blue Tee: Elegantees - $10
I've done a lot of research in the last several months and have been trying to find different sources of clothing that are socially responsible. I've been looking at Elegantees for awhile and when they ran free shipping last week, I dec…

I am married with one daughter. I work part-time as a youth services librarian but am primarily a stay at home mom. I enjoy writing about all aspects of my life - books, sewing, fashion, baking, family activities, frugality, running, my faith, and more!